Himachal Pradesh Government has appointed 1988 batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) Officer Sanjay Gupta, holding charge of additional Chief Secretary (CS), as regular Chief Secretary of the state, just five days before his superannuation on May 31, through a notification issued on Tuesday.
Gupta, was holding additional charge of the CS from October 1, 2025 after retirement of his predecessor Prabodh Saxena, and is due for retirement on May 31.
The appointment of Sanjay Gupta has invited sharp criticism from opposition parties of the state as Communist Party of India- Marxist (CPM) has been demanding his removal from the post for quite some time for his alleged involvement in Chester Hill Housing Project at Solan, which is under scanner of the state government for ‘irregularities and alleged land scam.”
CPM state secretary Sanjay Chauhan in a press release said , “ On the one hand, the government talks about zero tolerance towards corruption, while on the other hand, it has appointed an officer against whom several corruption-related cases are pending and whose conduct has also been questioned by the court.”
However, Sanjay Gupta had denied all allegations and accused two former chief secretaries e behind a conspiracy to defame him.
Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, has also strongly condemned the appointment of Sanjay Gupta as regular Chief Secretary of the state.
In a press statement Thakur said, “Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has become a mere puppet in the hands of bureaucrats and is completely “compromised.” He strongly condemned the decision to grant a permanent appointment to the current Acting Chief Secretary.”
He stated, “That at such a sensitive juncture—when the officer’s appointment has been challenged in the High Court through a PIL, the decision to appoint him as regular Chief Secretary raises serious questions regarding the government’s intentions”.
